Sky’s the limit for cos as deals fly

WHEN Israeli radar firm Elta won a Rs 960-crore order from the Indian Air Force (IAF) recently, the unlikely beneficiaries of the deal were a small Hyderabad-based company Astra Microwave and L&T. The two Indian companies won orders worth Rs 275 crore from the Israeli company, thanks to the offset policy of the ministry of defence. At the Aero India show in Bangalore, hectic parleys are on between about a hundred Indian companies, large and small with large international defence suppliers. The companies are hoping to be vendors for the international players, who in turn are urgently looking for Indian companies to complete their offset obligations.